Conventionalisation of organic farming practices: from structural criteria towards an assessment based on organic principles. A review

Abstract

-Organic farming is widely perceived as being more environmentally friendly than conventional farming. As a form of sustainable agriculture, it receives substantial support from policy for its contribution to environmental protection as well as the provision of amenities such as biodiversity and cultural landscapes. Consumers are attracted to organic foods as they are produced without synthetic chemicals and comply with higher animal welfare standards. Although organic farming certainly has the potential to fulfil these expectations, studies have shown that some certified organic farms do not. Their practices comply with the regulations, but not with the principles of organic farming. This trend has been called 'conventionalisation' of organic farming. In this paper we review the studies that discuss the conventionalisation of organic farming, focusing on the farm level and on evidence from Europe. We argue that to strengthen organic farming's transformative potential, the debate must move beyond its focus on the bifurcation between artisanal and conventionalised organic farms, so as to capture the full range of empirical heterogeneity. Our core argument is that to adequately understand the dynamics within organic farming and their potential impact on the ability of organic farming to fulfil the expectations of consumers and policy-makers, it is not sufficient to focus on structural changes. Instead, we need to assess whether or not the observed changes comply with the principles and values that are the fundament of organic farming. organic agriculture / conventionalisation debate / Europe / plant production / animal husbandry

Changes in Knowledge Management Strategies Can Support Emerging Innovative Actors in Organic Agriculture: The Case of Participatory Plant Breeding in Europe

“…However, commercially available crop varieties, even if certified organic, are characterised by genetic uniformity and are mostly selected under conventional farming conditions, which traditionally use high-energy inputs such as chemicals for fertilization and plant protection. The use of such varieties in organic agriculture promotes an input substitution approach increasing the risk for conventionalisation [28]. The diffusion of selection processes across different environmental conditions incorporating the direct involvement of farmers has great potential to develop crop varieties better adapted to different organic and low input farming systems [29].…”

Evaluating mountain goat dairy systems for conversion to the organic model, using a multicriteria method

“…The second panel of experts proposed 25 more variables (Table 1) on organic production and labelling of organic products with regard to organic production, labelling and control (henceforth referred to as EC 889/2008). The remaining 33 variables have been selected according to their importance for successful agroecological management, and according to Bellon and Lamine (2009) and Darnhofer et al (2010) who point out the superiority of a redesigned system to an input substitution system in the organic conversion process. Figure 1 shows the mean value for each indicator for the 24 NSS farms: 1.…”

“…Issues considered are important to avoid the conventionalization of organic farming (defined by Darnhofer et al (2010), as the introduction of farming practices that undermine the principles of organic farming) and to promote true organic farming, which may involve a redesign of the farm system instead of simple input substitution (Bellon and Lamine, 2009). …”

“…Nevertheless, literature on the conversion to organic farming is sparse (Bellon and Lamine, 2009), and few specific methods have been proposed for evaluating the possibilities for this conversion (Olivares et al, 2005). In this sense, principles-based indicators should be considered to avoid the introduction of farming practices that undermine the principles of organic farming (Darnhofer et al, 2010). This article proposes a farm-scale multicriteria method for assessing the conversion of dairy goat systems to the organic model that considers not only the EC regulations for organic livestock farming but also the agroecological principles.…”

Localisation de l’agriculture biologique et accès aux marches

“…Selon les auteurs et les questions abordées, ce concept de conventionnalisation recouvre des processus de différentes natures. Il peut s'agir : (i) de l'évolution des motivations de la conversion à l'AB ou de l'installation en AB, parmi lesquelles l'opportunité «économique » joue un rôle croissant ; (ii) d'une normalisation des pratiques agronomiques qui en réduit la portée écologique, attribuée à la réduction des principes qu'opère la certification 3 (Darnhofer et al, 2010), qui est une des conditions nécessaires au développement des marchés des produits de l'AB (Sylvander, 1997) ; normalisation également attribuée à la dynamique des systèmes de connaissances (Stassart et Jamar, 2009) ; (iii) du développement des circuits marchands pour les produits de l'AB au sein des filières conventionnelles ; (iv) ainsi que d'une diversification des acheteurs et des lieux d'achat des produits alimentaires issus de l'AB. Nous nous intéressons ici essentiellement aux implications de ces processus sur les rapports spatiaux entre les exploitations pratiquant l'AB et les marchés, cela à partir de l'analyse de la localisation de l'AB.…”